Nick Saban, the college football coach who probably needs an entry-level bowl bonus the least, stands to be among the first this season to get one.
His No. 1-ranked Alabama team can get its sixth victory of the season on Saturday at Arkansas, an accomplishment would that qualify the Crimson Tide for a bowl game.
Saban is making $8.3 million this season, the most among major college football coaches, according to USA TODAY's latest survey of coaches' compensation. He would get $65,000 more if Alabama plays in an ordinary postseason game – something it hasn’t done since 2007, Saban’s first season.
Other coaches also are hoping that bowl-clinching wins Saturday will be just another step in successful, and bonus-building, seasons.
But they have to start somewhere.
For Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell, it would start at $75,000 – the amount he gets if the Bearcats appear in any bowl not among the six affiliated with the College Football Playoff. They can move to 6-0 with a victory at home over Tulane.
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Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Kentucky’s Mark Stoops each can set themselves up for at least a $50,000 bonus, LSU’s Ed Orgeron and Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley for at least $25,000. The Sooners have their annual meeting with Texas in Dallas; the Tigers are at Florida; the Wildcats at Texas A&M; and the Bulldogs are at home against Vanderbilt.
Even when clinching eligibility for a bowl game isn’t a possibility quite yet, bonuses can be in play. (Actually, bonuses are in play pretty much all the time – and at least one head coach has picked up a bonus in every week of this season. Altogether, they’ve totaled nearly $400,000 in incentives.)
If Utah State defeats BYU on Friday night, Aggies coach Matt Wells will get $5,000 for the victory over an in-state rival.
If San Diego State wins at No. 24 Boise State on Saturday, it will be the Aztecs’ second victory of the season over a ranked team – an achievement that means $75,000 for coach Rocky Long. San Diego State defeated then-No. 25 Arizona State on Sept. 15, a win worth $10,000 to Long because it was against a team from a Power Five conference.
Kansas’ David Beaty and Connecticut’s Randy Edsall can get bonuses for wins this week, although they now can do that every week.
Beaty – whose $1.7 million in basic annual compensation is among the lowest for a Power Five coach – can get $100,000 for any win over a Power Five team. He already has one of those, over Rutgers. Now in Big 12 play, the Jayhawks visit West Virginia on Saturday.
Up to a $150,000 limit, Edsall can get $10,000 for any win this season, along with an array of possible $2,000 payments for single-game accomplishments, including scoring first and leading at halftime. The Huskies (1-4) play at Memphis on Saturday.
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